Visiting the Hunter Pilot Biorefinery site on Thursday, Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnsen was joined by NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John Barilaro to officially get stage one of the project underway.

Mr Johnsen said the electorate – and the wider Hunter – was a powerhouse for the Australian energy market, continuing to deliver visionary ways to power industry and households, while supporting new jobs in NSW.  

“The Hunter Pilot Biorefinery has the potential to revolutionise the way we create energy here in Australia,” he explained.

“This is going to allow world-class research into renewable and clean energy to take place at Muswellbrook, already an energy hub for the state.

“Our region is a breeding ground for innovation and the Hunter Pilot Biorefinery has proved yet again the contribution regional industries make to our state and the opportunities they create for new business, skills, education and jobs.”

Stage one of the Hunter Pilot Biorefinery (HPB) received $4.6 million from the NSW Government under the Growing Local Economies Fund, established by the government to unlock long-term growth opportunities in regional NSW through targeted infrastructure investment. 

Mr Johnsen added he was proud to deliver funding for a project that will create new jobs, attract investment into the region and place the Upper Hunter on the cutting edge of innovation in the energy sector.  

“The work that will be conducted in these buildings is of international significance,” he said.

“It will put Upper Hunter at the forefront of biorenewables research and development.

“And, I’m proud I have been able to contribute to this incredible opportunity.

“Our electorate is an economic powerhouse for NSW and partnerships like this, between the NSW Government and industry, means the region constantly transforming to remain at the forefront of states energy and economic future.”

Apace managing director and chief chemist Dr Russell Reeves believes the HPB will enable a higher rate of commercial deployment of bioenergy and biorefining technologies. 

“The HPB will be a state-of-the-art facility containing biomass processing and fermentation equipment applicable to a range of biofuel and renewable chemical production technologies,” he said.

“We are looking forward to discussing projects with a range of stakeholders including industry, universities and government.”

Ethtec senior biotechnologist Dr Geoff Doherty added that the HPB had the potential to transform the agricultural and forestry sectors. 

“We are on the cusp of being able to transform low-value biomass into high-value products such as biofuels and green chemicals,” he said.

“Being able to demonstrate these technologies at pilot plant scale is an essential step on the commercialisation pathway.”

The foundation project of the biorefinery is a $30 million cellulosic ethanol pilot plant project by Apace Research Limited (Apace), Ethanol Technologies Limited (Ethtec), the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Chinese engineering company JTL and the University of Newcastle.